


The fierce predator (for a marmoset)

by redsnake05



Category: What We Do in the Shadows (TV)
Genre: Canon-Typical Behavior, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:34:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21926047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redsnake05/pseuds/redsnake05
Summary: Jenna is learning to hunt, helped by the intense smell of tater tot casserole given off by one of her classmates and the clear and helpful guidance of Nadja.
Comments: 12
Kudos: 37
Collections: Yuletide 2019





	The fierce predator (for a marmoset)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Measured_Words](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Measured_Words/gifts).



> I love Jenna and Nadja too, and loved having a chance to write about Jenna's completely straightforward and inevitable transformation into a deadly hunter. I hope you enjoy.

Jenna missed human food sometimes. If you asked her, which no one really did except for Nadja, that would be the only thing she would have said. She had gotten a single room quite easily, for example, on the grounds of developing an allergy to the garlic plants her roommate had taken to growing in numerous pots around the room. 

Swapping to a mixture of evening and online classes hadn't been a problem, either, and she'd even found the unusual assortment of older and less traditional students taking the evening classes to be a better fit than the daytime ones. One, a man in his early thirties with a receding hairline and a controlling mother, sat next to her every class. Jenna wasn't sure what it was, but he smelled delightful, like her grandmother's ground beef casserole with tater tots on top.

Jenna opened the door to Nadja, inviting her in scrupulously politely. It was one of the few things she found truly irritating about being a vampire, especially since getting people to notice her was still tricky sometimes. But Nadja was as effortlessly cool as ever, though she looked out of place in the cramped little room, perched on the rickety desk chair while Jenna sat on the bed.

"Jenna, my sweet little baby, your room is delightful, of course," she said. "Though it could do with more velvet, and some draperies. Perhaps some portraits. Something regal, for my fierce darling." She ran her finger along the plain plastic of her chair arm, and then indicated the shelf above the desk with a sweep of her hand. "These little lights though, quite sweet, and flimsy. What are they?"

"Fairy lights," said Jenna, who had spent a lot of time and effort twining them around things in a way that the internet said was entirely on trend.

" _Fairy_ lights?" said Nadja, in a voice that implied Jenna may as well have made them out of poop. "Nasty, untrustworthy little things, yes, with their wings and their flittering and their pinchy cold fingers. I went to an orgy once, and someone made the mistake of inviting the local court."

Jenna was intrigued, but Nadja was leaning as far away from them as possible and the desk chair had given an ominous creak in response. 

"You can also call them string lights," she said. "Nothing to do with actual fairies. The nasty things."

"Yes, my dear, much better, much better," said Nadja, sitting back up straight and seeming to forget about the existence of the lights. "Now, what are you up to?"

"Nigel has invited me to his house," said Jenna. 

"Nigel?" asked Nadja. "Who is this Nigel?"

"He's in my class," said Jenna. "He always sits next to me. He smells like tater tots."

"Jenna, I do not think you have reached the point yet of drinking from children. They are so small, it's easy to misjudge, and a child's corpse is, despite being so very small, much harder to hide than that of an adult."

"Tater tots are made from potatoes," said Jenna. "He smells like casserole. With tater tots."

"Like your favourite food, hmm?" said Nadja. "He must be a virgin. They are the only ones who smell like your favourite food. I have to say, I base that on what other vampires say, as I ate boiled cabbage and turnips almost exclusively until I was turned, and so virgins smell to me like my uncle's third wife's bed roll. She always got extra helpings, as being the only one fat enough to earn a living as a whore."

Jenna was appalled. Casserole with tater tots should have been a universal experience, in her opinion. She considered a moment. Tater tots were theoretically made from potatoes, and they, of course, would have been unknown in Nadja's youth, now that she thought about it. Still, this awful deprivation made Jenna quite feel for Nadja. Turnips. She shuddered.

Nadja tapped her fingers on the edge of the desk, and sat up straighter, having obviously come to some kind of decision.

"Your first virgin is an important occasion," she said, "and this one sounds particularly virginal. You must show me this man."

"We have class together in about half an hour," said Jenna. "You can come with me."

"Excellent, very good. If you have a gift for finding virgins _and_ can become invisible, you will do very well. Already you move on, finding bigger prey. From a hedgehog, stuck eating worms on the ground, poor thing, you become a bat." She paused, perhaps thinking that references to bats were not felicitous, since Jenna's ability to transform was progressing only slowly. "Or a marmoset, perhaps," she said hurriedly. "They look adorable, but a ferocious hunter lurks within, ready to strike."

Jenna agreed. Marmosets sounded like a distinct step up. They strolled across campus, enjoying the early darkness of winter. Students and staff rushed past, well wrapped up against the cold, their breath misting in front of them. 

Jenna sniffed at those who came close enough, or into whose path she could reasonably step, and was intrigued to notice that none of them smelled like tater tots on casserole. Nadja smiled indulgently as Jenna shared her impressions, from string cheese to cheetos and milk. She stopped when the third person in a row had fallen over with her and it looked like they would be late to class, and Nadja said that it was a shame she couldn't smell all these differences - humans who weren't virgins smelled like the small stone she'd been given to chew on, dipped in water, when hungry as a child.

The lecture theatre was one of the small ones, tucked away at the back of the commerce block, where Jenna took most of her classes. Jenna was still hoping, despite her vampirism, to help her grandmother with her little diner, and she was taking the sorts of classes that would be helpful for a small business based on lard. It seemed to be the sort of career that would work for a vampire, since much of it took place at night, and the diner would hopefully attract a steady supply of people who could provide dinner for her too.

Nigel was approaching the doors as Jenna and Nadja did, and held them open with an exaggerated bow. The rich scent of processed meat and spurious cheese rolled off him like a wave. Next to her, Nadja made a noise that was both revolted and appreciative. Jenna felt the urge to bare her fangs and hiss, and quickly turned away so he wouldn't see.

"Hello, Jenna," he said, smiling a touch too widely. Jenna could remember, from when she was human, that she would have nervously acknowledged him and scuttled away. Today, though, she felt bolder, especially with Nadja at her side. She could rely on her to know what to do.

"Hello, Nigel," she said, smiling at him. "This is my friend Nadja," Jenna added. "She's a cosplayer." Jenna felt this explanation would allay any questions about Nadja's particularly extravagant hat and cloak combination.

"Pleased to meet you," said Nigel. He looked from one to the other, wringing his hands slightly, and the smell of casserole came in a fresh little wave. Jenna thought of Nadja's excellent advice about being a predator, and decided to start now.

"It's very dark tonight," she said. "We were hoping you might walk us back to the dorms; it will be so much safer with you there." Next to her Nadja looked impressed with her ingenuity, and Nigel positively glowed with enthusiasm.

"I'd love to," he said. "I was going to invite you to my place, but my mother-" He broke off abruptly, but Jenna had met enough men who were living in oppression in their mother's houses that she was not surprised. 

The lecture was absorbing, and Nadja sat quite still and quiet, much more so than Jenna had been expecting. The lecturer wrapped up a little early, and Nadja swept them out. 

"I think you are quite wasted on this," she announced, "though it is clear you are very talented at this odd human resources business, which is quite natural, of course." She waited for Nigel to open the door, and then linked arms with him on one side. Jenna hastily did the same on the other. 

Jenna had to admit, she wasn't entirely sure what to do now. I mean, stop somewhere and drink his blood, which was kind of the point of the entire thing, but she wasn't certain how to get to that point. Nigel launched into a monologue about something irrelevant, and Jenna thought about any good spots to stop on the way back. She knew enough that taking him to the dorm was out. Bloodstains were the enemy of dorm living.

Partway back, Nadja hissed at her, and Jenna peered around Nigel to see her pointing at a lovely, secluded little path. Ordinarily, she would have avoided even looking at the path, much less going down it, but she had to admit that Nadja was right. It looked tailor-made for some blood-letting.

Changing direction abruptly, she dragged Nigel towards the path. Nadja, cursing as her heels slipped slightly on the concrete, followed. Nigel blinked.

"I thought we were going to your dorm," he said.

"I can't wait," said Jenna. 

Nigel frowned and dragged his heels. He looked oddly uncomfortable. "I don't know what you think we were going to do in your dorm," he started, but Jenna cut him off.

"Yes, yes," she said, pushing him onto a convenient bench. She really appreciated the heightened strength thing now, as she climbed into his lap. 

"Careful," said Nadja. "They must keep calm, virgins, or their blood gets all frothy."

"Oh, really?" asked Jenna. "Can I hypnotise him to be calm? I bought rope, but it seems a little overkill for a first time."

"Rope?" squeaked Nigel. "Look, I'm not really into all that bondage stuff, and I'm more of a dominant anyway, you know, so how about we just forget about this?" He struggled a little, but Jenna ignored him.

"Yes, good idea. It will be difficult, for he is agitated like a little moth in honey, but try. Look in his face and twirl one hand, like so." She demonstrated, a kind of a spin of her wrist. Jenna watched closely, then turned back to Nigel.

Shifting on his lap, she flapped her hand in his face, watching him carefully. He looked puzzled and kept struggling. Jenna tried wriggling her fingers. Nigel frowned and kicked his legs, trying to dislodge her. 

"Why is this so difficult?" asked Jenna. 

"Not everyone can be good at everything," said Nadja, "though it does seem unfair that you can't turn into a bat and you can't hypnotise anyone." Jenna glared at her. She did not need to be reminded that she still couldn't turn into a bat. "Of course, if you able to find and lure virgins, you will always be successful," she said hastily. "Just bite him, and I will hypnotise him afterwards, assuming we don't accidentally kill him."

"Kill me!?" screamed Nigel, seemingly genuinely panicked now. Jenna grabbed his hair and exposed his neck, when an answering shout came from the main path, followed by a crashing noise and the blinding glare of a flashlight. Jenna lost her hold in surprise and Nigel gave a huge squirm that dislodged her and sent her tumbling to the ground. He ran, streaking away faster than she'd ever thought possible. 

"It's very likely he'll still be a virgin when you catch up with him again," said Nadja, quite matter of factly, taking Jenna's hand and flying up into the tree above. They watched a security guard heave himself into the clearing with the ponderous outrage of an elephant seal onto a beach, looking blankly for the source of the noise before wandering off again, scratching his head. 

"I will practice my hand twirling in the mirror," said Jenna, clambering down from the tree ungracefully and trying not to be envious of the effortless glide Nadja achieved. Then she remembered that she couldn't see in mirrors, and cursed quietly.

"Nevermind, let us go visit that devoted boy at that frat house where we are still invited," said Nadja. "We will work our way up to marmoset levels of deadliness."

Jenna agreed. She was pretty sure she knew where Nigel lived, and she was confident she could be as deadly and fierce as Nadja one day. In the meantime, a snack sounded great, even though frat boys smelled almost universally of stale beer and medication for jock itch. It would do.


End file.
